Ravens big challenge for Tom Brady

Thursday

Jan 17, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Tom Brady became the winningest playoff quarterback in NFL history last weekend, securing victory No. 17 by efficiently dispersing the Houston Texans. That was another step forward in his bid to become the first QB to start six Super Bowls and the third to win a fourth Lombardi Trophy, the others being Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana.

By Rich Garven TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Tom Brady became the winningest playoff quarterback in NFL history last weekend, securing victory No. 17 by efficiently dispersing the Houston Texans.

That was another step forward in his bid to become the first QB to start six Super Bowls and the third to win a fourth Lombardi Trophy, the others being Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana.

Brady's legacy is established firmly at this point in his Canton-bound career. It's only about enhancing it now.

But he'd rather get caught in a pair of off-the-rack jeans than discuss his gridiron greatness, especially with the Baltimore Ravens due here Sunday to try to wrench the AFC Championship from the Patriots.

“To tell you the truth, I don't really think about any of that,” Brady said Wednesday. “I'm just trying to win a football game this week. I think we're very short-term focused and playing against a great football team that obviously deserves the right to be here. We know how challenging of a team they are.”

He knows from experience, not all of it pleasant.

Although Brady is 5-2 all-time against the Ravens, he's 1-1 in the playoffs. And if Lee Evans had been more sure-handed or Bill Cundiff more sure-footed in the AFC Championship last season, it might be 0-2.

Brady has a 57.7 completion percentage against the Ravens in the playoffs. That's well below his career averages of 63.7 in the regular season and 62.9 in the postseason.

Brady has been intercepted five times by the Ravens. He has been picked off 14 times in his other 21 playoff starts.

His 78 pass attempts have generated just 393 yards and two touchdowns against Ed Reed & Co.

“There's not an easy throw, there won't be an easy throw this weekend. I think they really challenge you. That's why they're in this game.”

But these are not the Ravens the rest of the league has come to hate, one whose defense consistently smacked, slammed and battered the opposition into submission since the arrival of linebacker Ray Lewis in 1996.

The aging and injured Ravens — only two defensive players started all 16 games — ranked 17th in the league in yards allowed, ending their run of nine straight top-10 finishes. They were a startling 20th against the run, yielding an average of 122.8 yards a game, and for the first time in 17 years, surrendered 4 yards a carry.

The Ravens once went 39 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. This season, four players reached triple digits and another four topped 90 yards.

And they gave up 21.5 points a game. That tied for a respectable 12th, but was a major drop-off from the last four seasons when they ranked in the top three. That's an accomplishment only four other franchises can claim since 1970.

However, the Ravens are 12-6 following playoff wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos. And wins is one of the few stats Bill Belichick pays close attention to.

“They've been in a lot of close games and they've won a lot of close games and I think that's really what it's all about,” Belichick said, with Baltimore standing at 7-4 in games decided by seven points or less. “Some other stats and all, you can do whatever you want with them.

“It comes down to being able to make a play when you need to make a play, whether that's score or stop the other team from scoring or make a kick or block a kick or return a kick or whatever it is. It's doing what you need to do to win and they do a lot of that, so that's why they're a good football team.”

There are a couple of other relative numbers, namely 52 and 55. Lewis wears the former and running mate Terrell Suggs the latter.

A torn triceps caused Lewis to miss 10 games and a torn biceps led to Suggs' absence in eight games. The only two games they've played together have been in the playoffs, which helps explain the Ravens' sudden surge.

“The whole year has been a rollercoaster because of the injuries,” said Lewis, who has announced he'll retire after this season. “I mean, the first time me and Sizzle (Suggs) actually played together this year was the Colts game. So there were so many things we had to fight through all year.

“And for us to fight through it and be where we are now, I think collectively as a group we're really starting to dial it up.”

Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com

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